Implement foe



W. & J. CAIRNS.

Blanking Box Holaer.

' Patented Jan. 13, 1857.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM CAIRNS AND JASPER CAIRNS, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

IMPLEMENT FOR HOLDING BLACKING-BOXES.

Specification of Letters Patent No.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that we, WILLIAM CAIRNs and JASPER CAIRNs, of Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Implement for Holding or Securing Blacking-Boxes to Prevent the Fingers or Hand Being Soiled while Charging the Brush; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a side View of our improvement. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of ditto. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the center portion of ditto.

Our invention consists in securing the box upon a metallic bar or handle of suitable length by means of an adjustable or sliding jaw and two stationary projections, as will be hereinafter fully shown and described.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct our invention we will proceed to describe it.

A represents a metallic bar or handle, which may be of cast iron, malleable or hard, and of any ornamental pat-tern. This bar or handle is cast with three legs (a) so that it may be supported a proper height from the surface on which it rests to allow the hand to readily grasp the handle portion. The outer end of the bar A has scrolls (b) branching from it at each side. These scrolls serve as pro-per bearings or form a suitable base for the box B to rest upon. The two legs (a) (a) at the outer end of the bar A extend upward a short distance above the outer end of the bar A and form stops ((4') for the box B to bear against.

The center portion of the bar A has an oblong slot (0) made through it, and C is a jaw which has a ledge (d) on its under side, said ledge fitting in the slot (0). A screw D is fitted in the underside of the ledge (cl) and a nut (e) is fittedon the screw, said nut bearing against the under side of the bar A.

The box B is placed on the outer end of the bar A and against the stops (0/) and is firmly secured thereon by pressing the jaw C against its side, the jaw being secured in 16,374, dated January 13, 1857.

proper position by the nut (e) and the box clamped between the stops (a) and the jaw C.

The above implement is extremely useful as the box may be firmly held without soiling the fingers. It may be constructed at a trifling cost so that it may be obtained by every person.

The formation of ordinary blacking boxes is such that they cannot be used to advantage without being held in some manner, and for want of a suitable instrument for that purpose, it is customary to hold them with the hand. This is requisite not only in opening the box, but also in using the blacking. In either case the hands cannot escape being soiled, and besides, the method is inconvenient. Some persons endeavor to use the blacking, after opening the box, by placing the latter upon the floor, or upon a chair and holding the box down by pressing vertically with the brush, at the same time turning the brush in order to loosen the blacking. Such attempts almost invariably re sult in soiling the floor or object upon which the box rests, for the fibers of the brush gen erally project over the sides of the box. All such inconveniences are avoided by the use of our improved holder. The box is moreover firmly held and may be carried and used without the least difliculty, and with perfect neatness.

We are aware that it is very common in lathes and other machines, to hold articles, both round and of other shapes, by means of adjustable clamps, and therefore we expressly disclaim the use of adj ust-able clamps for the holding of objects, but

lVhat we claim as new in blacking box holders, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

The combination with a slotted handle of the stops, 6/, and the adjustable jaw, C, in the manner and for the purposes specified.

WM. CAIRNS. JASPER CAIRNS. 

